Dr. Tony Affigne

Area of Expertise
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Area of Expertise

Prof. Affigne offers some of Providence College’s most innovative and thought-provoking classes, including “Race and Politics in the Americas,” “Political Thought in Science Fiction,” and “The Politics of Climate Change.” He has also taught at Brown University, as visiting professor of political science, ethnic studies, and public policy. He recently served on the Advisory Board of the Washington-based Centennial Center for Political Science and Public Affairs, and as Book Review Editor for the _Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics_. In 1998 he co-founded the national Latino Caucus in Political Science, later serving as its President, and in 2011 was honored with the Frank J. Goodnow Award, the American Political Science Association’s highest award for distinguished service to the discipline. In 2021 Affigne was recipient of the Adalijza Sosa-Riddell Mentoring Award (named for the first Latina to earn a PhD in political science), conferred by the American Political Science Association for outstanding service as a mentor to Latinx and other students and junior faculty of color. He is a longtime member of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, and for NCOBPS’s 50th Anniversary Meeting in 2019, was asked to develop a new program division on Afro-Latino Politics. Here at the College, Affigne has been Chair of Political Science and founding Director of Black Studies, and is now faculty advisor to PC’s award-winning chapter of the Pi Sigma Alpha political science honor society. In the wider community, Affigne is a well-known commentator. He has appeared on Prof. Bill Hudson’s political science podcast “Beyond Your News Feed,” and been a frequent expert guest for local and national politics, on southern New England’s NBC, ABC, and PBS television news stations, and on public radio. Dr. Affigne has held numerous public offices, and is currently a member of Rhode Island’s Long Term Care Coordinating Council, which develops and coordinates state policy concerning all forms of long-term health care for the elderly and adults with chronic disabilities and illnesses. His previous public appointments included the regulatory Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) and the Providence Ethics Commission. As a member of CRMC’s Ocean Subcommittee, Affigne helped authorize the nation’s first-ever offshore wind farm, and in 2016 was the first public official to ascend one of the 350-foot turbines at Block Island—at the time, the largest wind turbines in the world. In city and state politics, Dr. Affigne is also something of a historic figure: His 1982 independent campaign for Providence City Council, and 1986 campaign for governor, made him the first-ever Latino candidate for elective office in Rhode Island history, and in 1992 he was a founding member of the Green Party of Rhode Island.

Awards and Honors
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Awards and Honors

Adalijza Sosa-Riddell Mentoring Award American Political Science Association

Frank J. Goodnow Award for Distinguished Service to the Political Science Profession American Political Science Association Career Award (2011)

Praxis Award for Synthesis of Theory and Practice Organized Section on Ecological and Transformational Politics

Founder’s Award for Leadership in the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Organized Section on Race, Ethnicity, and Politics (APSA 1997)

Selected Publications
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Selected Publications

Gonzalez, L. Affigne, T. (2016) “‘A Force to Be Reckoned With’: Rethinking Latina Leadership and Power”, in Sharon A. Navarro, Samantha L. Hernandez, and Leslie A. Navarro, Eds. Latinas in American Politics: Changing and Embracing Political Tradition.

Avalos, M. Affigne, T. (2014) “Latino Politics and Power in the Twenty-First Century”, in Tony Affigne, Evelyn Hu-DeHart, and Marion Orr, Eds. Latino Politics en Ciencia Política: The Search for Latino Identity and Racial Consciousness.

Affigne, T. (2014) “Minority majority America and the ghost of Woodrow Wilson”. Politics, Groups, and Identities.(2), 481-490.

Affigne, T. Hu-DeHart, E. Orr, M. (2014) Latino Politics en Ciencia Política: The Search for Latino Identity and Racial Consciousness. New York: NYU Press.

Affigne, T. Lien, P. (2002) “Peoples of Asian descent in the Americas: Theoretical implications of race and politics”. Amerasia Journal.(28), 1–27.

Affigne, T. (2000) “Latino Politics in the United States: An Introduction”. PS-Political Science and Politics.(33), 523–528.

Affigne, T. (1997) “Black Voters and Urban Regime: The Case of Atlanta”, in James Jennings, Ed. (Haymarket Series). Race and Politics: New Challenges and Responses for Black Activism.

Affigne, T. (1990) “Environmental Crisis, Green Party Power: Chernobyl and the Swedish Greens,” in Wolfgang Rüdig, Ed. Green Politics One.

Selected Presentations
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Selected Presentations

Affigne, T. Martinez-Ebers, V. “Are There Really ‘Ties That Bind’? Core Values and Common Beliefs Among Latinx, Black, and Asian Pacific Americans”. 74th Annual Meeting, Western Political Science Association, Virtual – “” April, 2021

Affigne, T. Martinez-Ebers, V. “Mapping the Ideological Contours of Black and Latinx Opinion”. 52nd Annual Meeting, National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Virtual – “” March, 2021

Affigne, T. “Critical Perspectives on Afro-Latino Politics Research”. 50th Anniversary Meeting, National Conference of Black Political Scientists, Baton Rouge, Louisiana – “” March, 2019

Affigne, T. “From the Rio Grande to the Susquehanna: Latino Emergence and the Enrichment of American Politics” . Keynote Lecture at the Bucknell University Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender, Lewisburg, PA – “” November, 2016

Affigne, T. “Erasing Race: Racial Exclusion and Empowerment in Political Science”. Pi Sigma Alpha Annual Lecture, at the University of California, Santa Barbara CA, – “” April, 2016

Affigne, T. “Latino Politics, White Supremacy, and the New South”. Keynote Lecture for the Conference on Reimagining the ‘New South’, Transforming Political Discourses, at Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, NC – “” April, 2015

Affigne, T. Brintnall, M. Pinderhughes, D. “Political Science in the United States: Notes on the Discipline”. Presented at the International Political Science Association, Conference on International Political Science: New Theoretical and Regional Perspectives, Montreal, Canada – “” April, 2008

Affigne, T. “A New Century in Latino Politics: Finding Our Voice in the Year 2000”. Lecture sponsored by the Metropolitan Research and Policy Institute, University of Texas, San Antonio TX, – “” October, 2000

Affigne, T. Avalos, M. Jackson, N. “Latino Politics in the United States: Building a Race-Conscious, Gendered and Historical Analysis”. Presented at the American Political Science Association, Atlanta, GA – “” September, 1999

Affigne, T. Avalos, M. Alfred, T. “Race and Politics in the Americas: The Continuing Search for Theoretical Foundations”. Presented at the American Political Science Association, New York, NY – “” September, 1994